U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Houston Seaport last week intercepted a counterfeit shipment of N95 masks destined for White Plains, New York, the company disclosed Thursday.
The agency explained the shipment had an estimated manufacturer’s instructed retail cost of approximately $350,000 and originated in China.
A shipment of counterfeit N95 masks in Houston.
(CBP)
The cargo arrived at Houston Seaport on April 7, CBP claimed. Officers examined the shipment and located some 171,460 masks with the Countrywide Institute for Occupational Security and Wellbeing logo on the packing containers. The officers called the trademark holder who advised them that the cargo was not licensed, which indicated that it was counterfeit.
The masks had been then turned more than to CBP’s Fines, Penalties and Forfeitures business office for disposition.
“Counterfeit items not only hurt the competitiveness of U.S. brands, but they also pose considerable wellness and basic safety hazards for American people,” Houston CBP Port Director Roderick Hudson reported in a assertion. “In this occasion, these counterfeit N95 respirators could not be effective at filtering airborne particles.”
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The counterfeit mask seizure comes as individual protective machines continue to remains superior amind the lingering COVID pandemic. The company states it seized close to 18 million counterfeit masks in the very first three months of 2021 – properly earlier mentioned the 12 million that the agency seized for all of fiscal 12 months 2020 and a mere 1,300 in fiscal 12 months 2019.
In the Houston place of functions on your own, the company seized much more than 2 million counterfeit PPE masks involving January and March of this yr, a substantial leap from the 365,000 seized for all of 2020.
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Fox News has reached out to CBP trying to find additional details on the import of counterfeit masks and how the company is alerted to them.